Only 1 percent of Miami homes are affordable to restaurant workers

byJoe WardMay 14, 2018

Miami is home to some of the country’s nicest restaurants and some of its glitziest real estate. And while restaurant workers certainly can’t afford Miami’s luxury housing, they also can’t afford anything else, according to a new study.

Trulia has crunched the numbers to determine what kinds of workers can afford to live in the city where they work. It turns out restaurant workers can afford only 0.41 percent of available homes in Miami, according to the online real estate database.

Restaurant workers in the city receive a median income of $22,490, according to Trulia. The median listing price for a home in 2018 was $450,000, meaning that such workers are priced out of more than 99 percent of available homes and condos.

Of the available affordable housing units, restaurant workers earn enough to afford 1 percent of that housing stock.

Trulia’s study highlights not only the low wages of restaurant workers, but also the affordability and inventory issues plaguing Miami housing. A glut of luxury condos will take years to fill, according to the Miami New Times, while much of the city’s working class struggles to afford housing of any kind.

It isn’t just the low wage restaurant staff that has been priced out of Miami. Trulia also looked at how doctors, computer programmers, first responders and teachers fare in the local housing market. Doctors can afford over 75 percent of available homes, but there’s a steep drop off after that.

Just under 30 percent of programmers can afford to live in Miami, while 23 percent of first responders can afford local homes. Teachers can only afford 10 percent of the area’s available homes, according to Trulia.